[Wilderness] Divine anguish (Talhar and Dusk)

[Talhar]

Talhar was far too absorbed into his conversation with a ghost to think rational and as such was oblivious to the fact that someone might have overheard them.
As the arrow was flying towards him he hoped for a fraction of a second that it would somehow bounce off the ghost, but even before the arrow had penetrated the void being he knew that it was idle hope.

The arrow thrusted itself deep into Talhar's left shoulder who screamed out in pain and fear. He had hardly ever been in a life and death situation but he instantly knew this was one of those. Those ruthless bandits would have no trouble dispatching of Talhar like they did to that poor family.

Due to the force of impact from the arrow he had let his spear fall out of his hands. Tears were welling up in his eyes and his face was covered in sweat.
He saw two men come at him and the ghost with drawn weapons. He had no choice but to fight. He just hoped the ghost would be able to assist him in some way or the other.

Talhar pulled out a javelin and threw it with a bloodlust and rage which he had never felt before. It pierced one the assailants's neck, crushed his adam's apple and destroyed his trachea. Making him unable to breath, blood slowly filled his lungs, drowning the man in his own blood.

Talhar had no time to think about what he had just done for the other man started slashing with his handaxe in a frenzy after seeing his mate get mortally wounded like that. Talhar fell on his behind in an attempt to dodge the handaxe flailing around. He crawled and pushed himself away from the bandit 'till he was at a " safe " distance. He pushed himself up with one arm and the help of his knees.

The pain was increasing steadily, he had trouble breathing and was scared to death. He already saw himself lying dead in a pool of his own blood. But he wasn't about to go down without a fight. The only reason he was still alive was because he fought and because the man attacking him was blocking the archer's line of sight. But once, and if, the man dies ... there was nothing stopping the archer from putting an arrow through Talhar's chest.

[Maius]

An arrow flew exploded from him air and buried itself in the hunter's shoulder. Maius' back was turned to the approaching bandit's so this peculiar happening announced their unwelcome guests. He spun around and saw two of the scum closing in on them with the third one, the one who had shot the arrow, keeping back. The wintry fire storm in his chest started to howl faster. His prey was here and he would enjoy their screams.

The hunter behind him took the impact of the arrow well and retaliated by hurling a javelin at the bandits. The well aimed shot took the bandit on the left in the throat. The man crumpled to the ground.

Maius disregarded the bandit on the right. He had recognised the archer He was the one who had granted Maius 'mercy'. It was time to repay that 'kindness'. He looked around frantically for a way to get to the archer. Suddenly a thought forced itself to the front of Maius' mind. He recalled what had happened but moments before when he had spoken with the hunter. He had somehow transported himself a few in the blink of eye. I wonder if I can repeat that. Maius focussed on a spot behind the archer and recalled his previous emotions trying to recreate the feeling.

The forest around him disappeared in a flash of color. For a split second Maius experienced a sense of being in two places at once. Then the forest refocussed itself and Maius could see he was indeed behind the archer. In the front he saw the hunter engage the axe wielding bandit. It did not matter for now his prey was close. The icy conflagration in his chest threatened to consume him and this time Maius did not hold it back.

The archer's attention was so focussed on the fight in front of him, looking for an opening to take down the hunter he did not even notice the the ghost floating up behind him. You granted me mercy, too bad mine died. Maius whispered into the man's ear. Time slowed down around him as he sort of slid his entire being forwards into the archer's form.

[Dusk]

Talhar's throw of the javelin was pure luck, and perhaps some amount of idiocy on the part of the bandits - for they thought these two would be easy pickings considering their behavior so far. Then first bandit went down in a gurgling mess of frothed blood, the sword falling soundlessly from his fingers.

The other ran at Talhar, swiping at him and sending the man to the ground. There was no "safe" distance, though - the bandit didn't give him time to crawl away, to think and plan and scheme. He kicked at the dropped spear and sent it flying across the clearing and out of Talhar's reach. When his intended victim clambered up to his hands and knees, the bandit simply kicked out at him, the thick sole of his boot slamming into the end of the arrow and ramming it all the way through Talhar's shoulder to spike out the other side with a spurt of blood. It was high on his shoulder, above the bone but planted firmly in the muscle, oily feathers only an inch from his skin.

The force of the kick sent him rolling backwards, and as he did the bandit gave a hard kick to the quiver holding his javelins as well, sending most of them flying about the clearing. He gave a howl of triumph, and raised his axe to slash at Talhar's legs.
_________

Mauis felt something that could not be described, for no words had yet been invented to adequately explain what it felt like for a dead man to try and force himself into a living one.

Disorientation was his foremost problem as he suddenly could see through human eyes again - and it was shocking how vivid the world was; or more, how dulled the world had been through spirit eyes. Before it was shades of grays and browns, and because he was dead he hadn't understood the difference. But as he tried to possess the archer, for a flash of an instant he actually saw through the man's eyes, and remembered how beautiful the world was.

And then there was only dizziness and pain as the bandit yelped and reasserted control over his body, shoving Mauis back out the way he'd come. It was the sort of pain one feels after running for hours, deep and unable to be ignored, consuming every last particle of his soulmist, like exhaustion but worse. It was the weakness of trying and failing to exert himself, and spending his very soul to do it, and would last at least another minute.

The archer, not knowing what to do, gave a startled cry and turned to flee - though he surely fled to collect the other three bandits and end this madness with a show of force.

[Maius]

The sound of thunderclap exploded in his ears as he was hurled entirely from the bandit. He felt like his entire being was squeezed through a narrow metal tube and just to add insult to injury the person holding the tube shook it at the end. Maius' spiritual form went flying through the air and came to rest about a whole feet away from the bandit That was stupid. Practice first then execution. he chided himself as he layed on the forest floor. There was a visible wobble that echoed through his entire form. This was the only external sign of the intense spiritual battle he had just waged and lost inside the bandit before him. The archer glanced around nervously then made tracks back into the forest.

As soon as the man was gone Maius' attention was fixed on the battle going on across the clearing. His weapon was losing the fight and that was something he would not allow. Shaking his head like a boxer trying to get the cobwebs out Maius rose to his feet. Enormous vertigo threatened to overwhelm him as soon as he got to his feet. He felt a tremble in his being. He was very close to having given it his all, his very essence in fact. but he could not let go, not now. Maius looked around for something, anything, to do. At his feet was a small pebble, about the size of a nut. Calling upon that ice cold fire in his chest he willed some of the syrup that coated him to go forth and envelope the rock. The pebble rose trembling into the air. Maius moved the pebble with his mind from side until he could reasonably control its movement.

With a growl of defiance he flung the pebble towards the bandit in the hopes of distracting the man and giving his weapon the opportunity to kill the bandit.

[Talhar]

Talhar screamed out in pain once again when the bandit stomped his feet on the arrow stuck in his shoulder, perforating his muscle and flesh. The force of the kick made Talhar roll backwards and causing more excruciating pain in his shoulder.

He laid on his back, patheticly and imcapable of doing anything but laying there he looked at the bandit with a fear that he never felt before. He was going to die and he was going to die right here and now. The bandit raised his arm to slice at Talhar's legs to further handicap him, Talhar stood frozen stiff on the ground. Not knowing what to do can make any man panic at a time like this. Then, for some reason unbeknownst to Talhar, the man stopped for and turned his head slightly for a second.

Talhar didn't think, he just acted...he pulled his rightleg backwards and like an animal in a dire situation he lashed out with force, he kicked the man on the kneecap and tried to stand up to tackle him but due to the position he was in and the arm he couldn't use, he fell on his side. Again he responded to the situation instintively and tried to sweepkick the raider on the ground so he could at least try to overpower him on the ground.

[Dusk]

The bandit was, indeed, distracted for a moment by the pebble that clipped the side of his head - though once he'd loosed the projectile, Maius had no idea what happened to it.

Instead, his pain doubled, trebled, consumed him until there was nothing but pain as he learned firsthand the dangers of Overgiving. The Soulmist that made up this new form swirled and bucked and turned a sickly yellow edged in the flickering maroon of dried blood. The worst of it was it seemed as if there would be no end to the pain - no end but death, real death, and even as he lay upon the ground in agony, something pulled at his soul, Lhex's call, the natural way of things seducing him back in to the cycle.

The other part of him, the part that wanted revenge, whispered to him to flee - get up and run as far and as fast as he could lest the bandits return and end his short stint of vengeance.

MaiusYou are now suffering from Overgiving. Your entire being is wracked with unimaginable pain, and you cannot perform any further magic in this scene. You will recover if allowed to rest for four consecutive days, during which time the pain will slowly fade until it disappears. The permanent consequence of this Overgiving is that you can no longer remember your wife's face: you remember every detail about her, the way she laughed, that she smiled, the way she smelled, but you simply cannot recall her face; that memory was burned from your soul by the Overgiving.

____

When Talhar lashed out at the bandit's knee, he gave a sharp cry of pain and bent over, gripping it and stumbling a step away from him. The bandit yelled in fury and raised his sword again, but Talhar once more kicked out and this time managed to tangle their legs together.

Both men went down again, the bandit's sword flying across the clearing as he lost his grip on it. The jar of landing sent waves of pain through Talhar's pierced shoulder, stealing his breath for a moment. The was all the time the bandit needed to recover, and then he was on him: he backhanded Talhar and sent him sprawling onto stomach, the arrow catching against the forest floor and rending his flesh further. Then a meaty arm wrapped around his neck from behind and began choking the life out of him.

"Thought you'd get t' best o' us, did ya?" he hissed in Talhar's ear on putrid breath. "Big petchin' hero, like. This here's what a hero gets in t'anks." His arm squeezed tighter, enough to send sparks of blackness across Tal's vision.

But he'd landed on one of his discarded javelins, the shaft of it hidden beneath his chest.

[Talhar]

Talhar didn't have time to be surprised by his succesful sweeping kick, he was immediatly struck with an aweful feeling of piercing pain in his shoulder from the rough landing on the ground, he opened his mouth to let out a soundless gasp of pain, removing the air from his lungs.

It didn't take long for the bandit to recover from the fall and as he jumped on Talhar, Talhar could do nothing but take the punches. He instinctively rolled over to protect his face and shoulder from more harm. But his plan backfired on him as it was childish to think the bandit would suddenly stop attacking him just because he obviously had lost the battle. The enraged man started to choke Talhar from behind and whispered cruel, menacing words into his ears. Foul breath swallowed Talhar whole but as he continued to struggle without any prospect of winning he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

He had landed on one of his javelins that were previously discarded by the bandit. He started moving around and pushing his good arm deeper under his body to grab the javelin. After a few seconds he had finally taken ahold of the javelin but his vision was getting blurry, he was losing the last of his breath fast. In a momentary fit of panic he took out the javelin to his side and stabbed the bandit that was laying on top of him in the shoulder, striking it deep and retracting it in a fast slicing motion. The man screamed in agony and rolled over to the side of Talhar, clenching his ripped shoulder in pain.

Talhar didn't allow himself to regain his breath before taking out the homicidal bandit, he pushed himself up with all his remaining strength. As he lifted the javelin he looked into the man's eyes, they were filled with fear, rage and tears. The bandit attempted to plea his way out of it but Talhar's mercy was nowhere to be found. He thrusted the javelin into the man's chest with all his might, reinforced by his body falling to the ground he pierced the man's chest and left the javelin sticking out of the cavity in his chest. The man screamed a defeaning howl of terror as it pierced his flesh and organs before he succumbed to the pain and died.

Talhar breathed heavily in and out for a while before he realized the position he was in, he had to flee and he had to flee fast. He gathered a few javelins and started running back the way he came from.

He glanced over his torn shoulder at the ghost laying on the floor and shouted " RETREAT! COME WITH ME! " , as he continued to run for his life with piercing pain in his body every step of the way.

[Maius]

Pain, pain is something that every living thing knew. Something that even those who are dead now. Pain is vital. It keeps the living in the land of the living and it usually keeps the dead away. However sometimes pain is a catalyst for evil deeds. The murder in pain whether emotional or physical lashes out against those he or she perceives as the author of said pain. A predator wounded lashing out against those that had inflicted the pain. In the case of Maius however as the pain throbbed dully through out his entire being the iron willed monster in his chest started feeding on the pain, growing in size and scope. Pain after all is simple sensory input which can be redirected by those of sufficient will.

A low glutteral moan echoed through the small forest clearing as he righted himself. His entire being resonated as if on fire. While he was alive he had never felt such terrible excruciation. Just as the icy conflagration consumed enough of the pain to help him gain clarity he heard his weapon shout towards him "RETREAT! COME WITH ME!" Maius quickly cast a glance around the clearing. He saw only two dead bandits. The archer was nowhere to be seen. Bastard must have run off. he thought. Tilting back his head he howled towards the sky in pure frustration I WILL BE BACK! DO YOU HEAR ME!! I WILL BE BACK!!!! There was nothing left he could do. He had spent some of himself and he gained no sweet death, no feeling of bandits squirming underneath his heel. He did not really fear them hurting him, more the case of him being able to do nothing to them.

His wrath spent he floated towards the retreating figure of the hunter.

[Dusk]

OOC:

Okay guys, if you don't get out of there quick-like the rest of the bandits will come kill you both. But it looks like you're leaving, so I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need me for anything else, and have fun finishing the thread!

[Talhar]

With every step taken the pain in his shoulder worsened, he feared it was going to get infected, having made plenty of contact with dirt and soil in the struggle.
He placed his hand on the wounded shoulder and continued to run for his life. For all he knew those bandits were right on his trail, he was scared to look back but he couldn't resist. He had to know if the ghost had gotten away aswell, he felt like a coward for running off like that without even making sure that his comrade was safe aswell.

He finally looked back as he entered a clearing in the forest and could run blindly for a moment, he saw a living smoketrail follow his relatively closeby, occasionally showing his angerstruck face through the smoke. The ghost clearly wasn't happy with the outcome but Talhar was not willing to die like that, not even for a cause as the ghost's.

He turned his face back to the front and continued to run for at least another 15 minutes before finally coming to a halt, the adrenaline had mostly faded and all that was left now was pain and exhaustion.

He collapsed on his behind and breathed heavily for a long time 'till Talhar finally managed to speak.

" I'm sorry, we couldn't do more. We would've been killed, without question. "

The ghost kept his tongue and simply seemed to blow away with the wind, Talhar couldn't tell if he was 'passing the tunnel' or simply gliding away.
Either way, the ghost was gone and Talhar was left alone in the forest.

Maybe it was unreasonable but Talhar was quite angry at the ghost. Couldn't he have at least apologized for dragging Talhar into this mess or thanking him for, trying to, help him out?

Talhar just shrugged it off, in his opinion he had done the request at the best of his capabilities. He wasn't a fullblown warrior and was in no position to challenge several battlehardened bandits head-on afterall.

He walked, walked and walked some more 'till he finally got out of the forest and onto a road again. Not once did he look back anymore, what's happend has happend. The flow of life goes on.